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In the US, Goodyear has been ordered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall 18 incorrectly labeled tyres. The offending units were manufactured in the company’s Lawton, Oklahoma factory in the second week of January 2008, and barring roadside mishaps all one and a half dozen of these Goodyear Eagle RS-A P235/55R18 99V passenger car tyres may still be plying the roads of America.
Cuts in rubber exports have begun in the world’s third-largest rubber producing nation. Malaysia’s Plantations Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin confirmed that the government’s plan to reduce rubber exports by around five per cent this year is underway, and it now remains to be seen whether the measure will bring prices out of the doldrums.
“For the first quarter, Malaysia will reduce rubber exports by 22,000 tonnes,” said Chin. “For the whole of 2009, it will be 57,050 tonnes.” Last year Malaysia exported 1.1 million tonnes of rubber. Along with Thailand and Indonesia – the number one and two global rubber producers – Malaysia has committed to removing approximately 915,000 tonnes of natural rubber from the world market. The three countries, which comprise the International Rubber Consortium (IRCo), also say that a reduction of up to 1,345,000 tonnes is possible, but only if prices further weaken.
At the Sema show, Continental Tire North America (CTNA) gave debuts to three new uhp tyres, aimed exclusively at the North American market.
Andreas Gerstenberger, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, spoke to T&A about the new tyres, the first of which is the ExtremeContact DW. This tyre, said Gerstenberger, is specially engineered to deliver serious performance on both dry and wet roads and features completely new technology exclusive to Continental Tire. It delivers excellent traction and responsive handling in both wet and dry conditions, improved ride comfort, better mileage and industry leading rolling resistance levels.
HiQ bosses recently held the retail network’s first National Franchise Conference. The leading fast fit retailer organised a franchise networking event at the impressive Crewe Hall venue in Cheshire, where the company’s recently named new managing director, Juergen Titz, outlined HiQ’s vision to grow in the fast-fit and vehicle servicing market. The event gave HiQ the opportunity to have an open dialogue with its franchisees and inform them of the types of services open to them, such as online ordering technology, marketing support and new corporate identity graphics.
Despite trading in an unprecedented economic downturn, the company remained extremely upbeat about its future, mainly because of its National Franchise Programme. HiQ’s franchise structure is the only one of its kind in the fast fit industry, with 130 sites now run by 41 franchisees. By the end of February, this figure will rise to 138 sites and by the end of 2009, it is hoped that 170 centres will be franchised.
Dunlop have been testing tyres at the Fort Dunlop testing facility in Birmingham since 1923, but this department recently joined the information superhighway with a web site of its own – dunloptyretesting.co.uk. Tyre testing in Birmingham has come a long way since the first tyres were observed on simulator roads at 10 miles per hour. Today the company boasts speed tests of up to 400 km/h. “At Dunlop, we test not only for durability but also for performance. We have recently acquired ISOIE/17025:05 accreditation meaning we are classified as a laboratory standard facility,” web site literature explained.
Currently the facility is equipped to carry out the following tests: ECE 30, ECE 54, ECE 75, ECE 108, ECE 109, FMVSS 109, FMVSS 119, Gulf standards, Saudi Arabian, Australian, FMVSS 139 (when required), rolling resistance to ISO18164, high and low speed uniformity, accelerated ageing, long term endurance testing, high speed camber testing, high speed variable slip angle, pulse braking, burst testing, laser tyre profile measurements, tyre dissection, load deflection, dislodgement.
A new product on show at SEMA was the patented RightPSI tyre pressure management system. RightPSI mounts quickly and easily to any tyre valve stem. Three different coloured tyre-pressure indicators provide a visual reference for tyre pressure status – orange for low pressure, black for correct pressure, and yellow for over-fill status.
The coloured indicator can be seen from up to 15 feet away, making it easy to effectively and consistently monitor tyre pressure. RightPSI is the only product of its kind that can be used as a tyre-pressure gauge, tyre-pressure fill point, and over-fill indicator simultaneously.
Two new senior appointments have been made at the Apollo Tyres’ owned companies Dunlop Zimbabwe and National Tyre Services (NTS). In a statement, Dunlop Tyres Group chief executive officer, Dr. Luis Ceneviz, said Mr. Kennedy Mandevani, who is currently Dunlop Zimbabwe managing director, will assume the position of group managing director for National Tyre Services. Mandevani’s portfolio will cover both NTS and Dunlop, said Ceneviz.
The French government has offered to pump up to six billion euros into the nation’s battered automotive industry, but Michelin says it doesn’t require state assistance. Despite being hard hit by declining global vehicle sales, the tyre maker said on January 20 that its debt financing needs were for the time being covered.
Bridgestone’s First Stop network has completed a refurbishment programme which sees 15 stores branded with new signage for 2009. The programme saw 15 of First Stop outlets fitted with new signage as part of the ongoing development to strengthen the brand and its network of quality tyre dealerships throughout the UK. The signage packages included complete First Stop branding for the exterior of the depots as well as the refurbishment of existing signage and exteriors.
As well as the installation of new signage, the past year has seen the opening of the UK’s first ‘model stores’, at Kingsway, Spalding and ETB, Stratford, and the refurbishment of a number of stores for the First Stop network.
On 16 January Pirelli inaugurated its new Pirelli Tire Campus in Yanzhou, Shandong. Pirelli China CEO, Giuseppe Cattaneo commented: “The inauguration of the Tire Campus has further marked the commitment of Pirelli to play a leading role in the tyre industry especially in the high end segment. Apart from the tyre industry, the auto industry including OE customers and Car Concessionaires will also benefit from Pirelli Tire Campus’s training program and better equipped with advanced tyre technology and professionalism.”
Together with its Tire Campus Training Centre at the Istituto Piero Pirelli in Milan, the new initiative is a reflection of the effort Pirelli Tires has put on the continuous training of its internal and external resources as a fundamental element for continuous product and technology innovation of Pirelli Tires.
The ongoing struggle between Continental AG and its major shareholder, Schaeffler Group, took a new twist yesterday when the Financial Times (FT) reported that Schaeffler wanted to force our Conti’s supervisory board chairman, Hubertus von Grünberg. According to FT, Schaeffler executives have fallen out with von Grünberg over his “systematic sabotage” of their plans.
FT reported that von Grünberg was told he should resign and make way for Schaeffler to be given four board seats, or the ball bearing maker would force an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to replace all 10 members. Neither side has commented publicly about the reports.
On 18 December 2008 ATS Euromaster opened a new service centre in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, its fourth new centre to be opened in the UK during 2008. Built with an investment of more than £1 million, the new fast-fit facility is situated within the Chancery Gate Business Centre in Whiteleaf Road, and joins a network of more than 470 service locations across the UK – including seven in Hertfordshire.
Vince McGurk, Group Operations Director, explained: “We chose to invest in this area following a strategic assessment of our new business opportunities. It highlighted that putting ATS Euromaster firmly on the map in Hemel Hempstead, just off the busy A41 and only three miles from the M25 and M1 motorways, would further strengthen our nationwide service offering…It is also the fourth new centre we have opened in 12 months, joining recent additions in Redruth, Treforest and Bourne End.”
The new team is led by Steve Thomson, centre manager, who brings with him 18 months experience at ATS Euromaster, having previously worked as assistant manager at the company’s dedicated truck facility in Hounslow. The Hemel Hempstead branch has on-site parking for up to 20 cars.
The lockout at PTL Enterprises Ltd in India appears to have reached a stalemate, with both parties sticking to their respective positions without compromise. According to an official at Apollo Tyres, the employees’ unions demand that the lockout end as a pre-condition to enter into further negotiations, while management at the Apollo Tyres supplier say the company will end the lockout only after the issues are discussed and settled.
On January 23 Bridgestone’s US retail operation, Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC (BSRO), celebrates the opening of its 1,500th Firestone Complete Auto Care location. Outlet number 1500 is located in the Illinois town of McHenry, and upon opening the centre joins the largest network of company-owned automotive service providers in the world.
“We are so proud to have achieved this great milestone,” said Larry Magee, chairman, CEO & president of BSRO. “When Harvey S. Firestone opened the first Firestone Service Center in the early 1900s, opening 1,500 stores was only a dream. We’re proud to have turned that dream into a reality
Blackcircles.com has given Liverpool/Manchester based PR agency Paver Smith responsibility for the company’s public relations programme. Following the appointment, managing director Michael Welch commented that “we’re delighted to bring Paver Smith onboard and look forward to developing a successful working relationship.”
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